Five Mexican Bands Who Are Tight & Why I Think the Mexican Music Scene Sucks

In case you fools don't know, I was born in Mexico back in ye olde year of 1983. As a young baby my family changed the lyrics to Flans' hit single "No Controles" to "no con chones" referring to me as I ran around sans underwear. 18 years later I was subjected to an awful cover of "No Controles" by an otherwise worthwhile band known as Cafe Tacuba. Along with a few of their countrymen, Cafe Tacuba brought Mexican rock and roll to the world's attention.

Cafe Tacuba have always played quirky rock highlighted by their vocalist's snotty yet versatile voice. By fusing ska, funk, and rock with traditional Mexican styles Cafe Tacuba courted the tastes of pop music fans while standing out from the rest of the crowd. As their career progressed their sound began to mirror that of Radiohead and like-minded acts somewhat as more experimental touches were added. They are critically acclaimed and worthy of praise, for sure.

Another band that mixed ska, funk, rock and traditional Mexican styles was Tijuana No. Their sound really isn't similar to Cafe Tacuba's at all, however, and they sound more like Fishbone if anyone. These guys definitely courted the rock side of things more than pop. It is worth noting that former Tijuana No member Julieta Venegas has gone on to pop stardom in Mexico, so much so that even my mom owns a CD of hers. I also happened to catch Tijuana No's last concert ever which took place in San Francisco, and it was a surreal experience seeing a band past their prime playing to a small core of devoted fans.

If you like more bands that mix traditional styles with popular music then El Gran Silencio is the band for you. Monterrey, second possibly only to Mexico City as the country's source of great music, is where El Gran Silencio call home. You can hear rap, ska, and norteño elements in their funky fusion. They spit fast and upbeat bilingual lyrics in English and Spanish and put on a great live show.

Molotov are my favorite Mexican band, and are possibly the most maligned band on this list. It seems like people either love them or hate them, and I'm sure the band loves it both ways. Beginning as a delightfully raucous funk-rap-metal band with their album "Donde Jugaran Las Niñas?" (a jab at Mana's "Donde Jugaran Los Niños") they defied the suckiness of rap-metal in general with songs that were catchy and fun, and humorous and intelligent in their commentary. While El Gran Silencio handles bilingual vocals well, Molotov's lyrics are clever beyond belief in both languages. Their newest album "Dance and Dense Denso" slanted their sound to a more straightforward rock, almost punk, sound more manic than anything before. Molotov shows are events not to be missed, not because of the band themselves (though they are tight), but because of their insane and rabid fans. How many shows have you attended where strange gas bombs explode in the middle of the set causing the crowd to run in fear out the doors? That's right, I thought so...

Finally, I must mention Control Machete. I heard them first on the Amores Perros soundtrack and became an immediate fan. The aggressive and gruff vocals of MC Fermin IV backed up by eerie yet bouncy beats makes for a good sound. They are possibly the only foreign rap group I've ever heard that doesn't sound phony and laughable. If you played them loudly while cruising in your 1992 Plymouth Colt you would totally look hardcore.

These bands are all tight, but I haven't discovered anyone as good them since I discovered them all during my senior year of high school. That's three years!

When I found out that San Jose had finally gotten a rock en español radio station a few months back I listened with moderate excitement. Little did I know that I'd be subjected to boring light rock mixed with traditional mexican styles for hours on end. I discovered to my chagrin that Mexican rock's biggest asset, the subtle influence from the country's folk music, was also it biggest drawback. For every Cafe Tacuba and Molotov making interesting and relevant music, there are 3 dozen bands who sound like Mexican John Mayer, but the strong solidarity in the rock en español scene keeps people from realizing that.

I suppose there's nowhere to go but up from here, but Mexico is sure taking its dear sweet time. ¡Apurense!

Bob Vielma